72 die in building collapse

2 builders arrested as search for survives continues in Mumbai

Associated Press

Associated Press

Published 9:58 pm, Saturday, April 6, 2013

People gather around a heap of debris at the site of a building collapsed as a rescue operation continues on the outskirts of Mumbai, India, Friday, April 5, 2013. A half-finished building that was being constructed illegally in a suburb of India's financial capital collapsed, killing 35 people and injuring more than 50 others, police said Friday. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

People gather around a heap of debris at the site of a building...

A Nepalese man paints a chariot that will be pulled during the Bisket Jatra Festival at Bhaktapur, Katmandu, Saturday, April 6, 2013. The Bisket Jatra Festival is a chariot festival that starts April 10, celebrated by the Newar Community to welcome the Nepalese New Year. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

A Nepalese man paints a chariot that will be pulled during the...

An Indian boy injured in a building collapse receives treatment at a hospital on the outskirts of Mumba, India, Friday, April 5, 2013. The residential building being constructed illegally on forest land in a suburb of India's financial capital collapsed into a mound of steel and concrete, killing at least 41 people and injuring more than 50 others, authorities said Friday. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

An Indian boy injured in a building collapse receives treatment at...

Nepalese boys sit on a chariot, which will be pulled during the Bisket Jatra Festival at Bhaktapur, Katmandu, Saturday, April 6, 2013. The Bisket Jatra Festival is a chariot festival that starts April 10, celebrated by the Newar Community to welcome the Nepalese New Year. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Nepalese boys sit on a chariot, which will be pulled during the...

A Nepalese woman performs rituals at a temple in Bhaktapur, Saturday, April 6, 2013. Bhaktapur, also known as city of devotees, is an ancient city and part of the Katmandu valley. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

A Nepalese woman performs rituals at a temple in Bhaktapur,...

A roadside dentist waits for patients on the eve of World Health Day, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, April 6, 2013. Thousands of people rely upon roadside quacks for treatment of various ailments at a low cost. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

A roadside dentist waits for patients on the eve of World Health...

Indian policemen carry the dead body of a female British tourist on the banks of the Dal Lake in Srinagar, India, Saturday, April 6, 2013. The British woman was found dead in a pool of blood in a houseboat in the Indian portion of Kashmir early Saturday and a Dutchman has been arrested, police said. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Indian policemen carry the dead body of a female British tourist on...

A lone skier makes his way up a hill in Sonamarg, 106 kilometers (66 miles) north of Srinagar, India, Saturday, April 6, 2013. Sonamarg, which means meadow of gold, is a popular tourist destination that is inaccessible during winter due to heavy snowfall and avalanches. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

A lone skier makes his way up a hill in Sonamarg, 106 kilometers...

A Kashmiri man pulls a tourist on a sledge in the snow at Sonamarg, 106 kilometers (66 miles) north of Srinagar, India, Saturday, April 6, 2013. Sonamarg, which means meadow of gold, is a popular tourist destination that is inaccessible during winter due to heavy snowfall and avalanches. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

A Kashmiri man pulls a tourist on a sledge in the snow at Sonamarg,...

Police arrested two builders as rescue workers on Saturday finished a two-day search for survivors in the collapse of a residential building being constructed illegally in India's financial capital. At least 72 people were killed in the accident, the worst house collapse in the country in recent decades.

Another 70 people were injured when the eight-story building on forest land in the Mumbai suburb of Thane caved in into a mound of steel and concrete Thursday evening, police said. The dead included 17 children.

Thirty-six of the injured were still in city hospitals and the rest were discharged after medical treatment, said Sandeep Malvi, a spokesman for the local municipality.

Local police commissioner K.P. Raghuvanshi said two builders were taken into custody and would be formally charged after an investigation.

Police on Friday registered a case of culpable homicide against the builders, Salil, who uses one name, and Khalil Jamadar, the Press Trust of India news agency said. If convicted, they can be sentenced up to life in prison.

Rescue workers with sledgehammers, chainsaws and hydraulic jacks worked through Friday night to break through the tower of rubble in their search for survivors, police officer Dahi Phale said. Six bulldozers were brought to the scene.

Twenty bodies were recovered overnight and the rescue work ended at noon Saturday after 42 hours, Malvi said.

Prithviraj Chavan, the top elected official of Maharashtra state, said that a government probe had been ordered into the accident, and that a deputy municipal commissioner and a senior police officer had been suspended for dereliction of duty.

At the time of the collapse, between 100 and 150 people were in the building. Many were residents or construction workers who were living at the site as they worked on it, Malvi said.

A nearby hospital was filled with the injured, many of whom had head wounds, fractures and spinal injuries. Hospital officials searched in vain for the parents of an injured 10-month-old girl who was rescued after 12 hours.

Police said rescue workers saved 56 people from the wreckage, including a woman who was rescued 36 hours after the accident.

At least four floors of the building had been completed and were occupied. Workers had finished three more floors and were adding the eighth when it collapsed, police Inspector Digamber Jangale said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the structure to collapse, but Raghuvanshi said it was weakly built and appeared to have buckled and collapsed on itself.